Some Scars Never Heal
"Whitefeather, for betraying your Clan, fighting a Clanmate, and disobeying your Clan leader, you will be exiled. From now on, you are no longer a warrior of MossClan, and will be chased off the borders." Whitefeather spat, lashing her tail, and her blue eyes burned with hatred. "You had better watch your backs. All of you." She glared menacingly at Frozenheart, who burned his own stare back at her. "I am a rogue now, and I don't live by the warrior code." The she-cat flashed her claws before bounding out of camp. There was silence behind her as she moved on, but a moment later she could hear Foxstar's yowl as he made Berrypaw and Dustpaw into warriors. She growled quietly. Whitefeather picked her way through the familiar territory. She wasn't sure where to go. She didn't care. It didn't matter. The thick furred she-cat paused to drink from a stream that spread across her path. She saw her own face reflected back at her, her sad blue eyes. That made her angry. She wasn't sad. She snarled at her reflection and slammed one paw into the stream. Water sprayed up around her, her image dissolving. Whitefeather moved on. Five moons she wandered aimlessly, picking fights with loners who crossed her path. Often she conversed with a few of the remaining rogues. Sometimes these discussions were friendly. Sometimes they were not. On the day she met the badger, there were four rogues following her. One was a large brown tabby tom named Janus. Another was that russet and white she-cat, Mink. The third cat was a lean, rather young tom with thick, dark brown fur and white forelegs. His name was Crunching Leaf, but Whitefeather tended to refer to him as simply Cruncher. The last was barely more than a kit, and she stumbled along behind Janus. They all called her Muddytail. "I like voles," Muddytail was babbling again. "They taste better than squirrels and birds, and almost as good as mice." Crunching Leaf was beginning to respond when Whitefeather flicked up her ears and tail. The others froze behind her. "Badger," Whitefeather snarled, just as the black and white creature meandered from the trees. The wind had just shifted in their direction now, but she should have caught the scent before. The badger stopped when it saw them, staring at them with small, beady eyes. It grunted, then moved away. Whitefeather bristled when she saw where it was heading. She'd set up a makeshift camp not too far in CloudClan territory, and she shared it with the others sometimes. (Mink was a different story, StarClan only knew what went on in her head.) They'd only left that morning, but there was still fresh-kill in their camp, and Whitefeather wasn't ready to let it go. "Come on," she growled to the others, and hurtled after the badger. Janus was following almost immediately, Mink a short way's behind. "Where are you going?" Muddytail called, but Crunching Leaf scooped her up and disappeared into the undergrowth. With a yowl, Whitefeather threw herself onto the beast. It grunted as her claws sunk into its tough hide. Janus went for its claws-that mouse-brain. Mink slowed as she approached, scrutinizing their opponent, before leaping onto its back after Whitefeather. Whitefeather hissed and sunk her teeth into the badger's ear. It cried out in pain, lumbering forward a few steps. Janus was on his back beneath its belly, clawing fiercely at its stomach, but for some reason the badger decided Whitefeather was the main threat. It twisted, and she fell from its back. She scrambled to her paws, but the badger's claws were already coming down. They were huge things, long and blunt, meant for digging in the ground, but they were still painful. They raked across her face, and Whitefeather let out a shriek. One eye saw nothing but darkness. The other only blood. Mink and Janus were fiercely attacking the beast, and it slammed Janus aside. Whitefeather hadn't fought very many badgers, but she'd never known one like this before. It turned to face her again, showing its teeth. Whitefeather stumbled backwards, tasting blood in her mouth as it ran down her face. The claws ripped at her again, this time tearing at her ear. The force knocked the she-cat to the ground, and still the claws came. Only one more time did they lash across her face, once again crossing her injured eye. She yowled. Teeth sank into her scruff, dragging her backwards. Whitefeather thrashed, even though she knew it was Janus, pulling her away from the black and white beast. "Mink!" he cried, releasing her fur. "We need to get Whitefeather away. Leave the badger. We'll find a new camp." Whitefeather fell unconscious. When she woke, Crunching Leaf was standing over her with a mouthful of wet moss. She couldn't see out of one eye. Panic gripped her for a moment-would she be blinded forever? No, of course not. It would go away. It couldn't be true... "Leave me," Whitefeather commanded, rolling to her paws. Crunching Leaf drew away, dipping his head. There was a puddle nearby, and Whitefeather crossed over to it. Her reflection wavered as she moved towards it, and she stared down at the puddle. The image of her face glared back. Her face! One ear was shredded, and the matching eye was smeared over with red and pink scars. She gaped at herself, but only for a moment. Her mouth curled into a snarl. "Whitefeather." Janus pushed his way through the bracken to her side. When she turned him he stared, gaping slightly. "What are you staring at?" Janus ducked his head. "My apologies. I came to inform you that two CloudClan cats are approaching. The medicine cat, and her sister." "Leave them to me," Whitefeather growled, moving past him. "I already have a plan." "Plan?" he followed her. "What plan?" "I just thought of it. I will convince them to take me into their Clan. Meet me here every full moon, and we can discuss the destruction of the Clans." He stared at her. Admiring her, of course, for her skill at scheming. What else? "Yes, Whitefeather. I will wait." "Good. Leave me now. Do not worry." With that, she sprinted forward. And immediately crashed into a tree. Whitefeather yowled in surprise. That hadn't been part of her plan. She stumbled forward, unable to see on her right side, where her eye was dark. She could scent the CloudClan cats now, and hurled herself forward onto the ground. She could tell that her scars were still raw, her face still bleeding. That would help in the plan. Whitefeather tried to make her breaths sound ragged, and did the best to look the picture of an injured, dejected cat. "Who are you?" the voice trembled slightly, and Whitefeather faintly recognized the mew. She'd heard it before occasionally at Gatherings. She sat up carefully, keeping her back to the cats. With her uninjured eye, she gazed around her. The scent of pine trees filled her jaws with familiar CloudClan scents. She slowly turned around, and heard a gasp. As she looked at the pair of cats, they gazed back at her in horror at the sight of her face. She already knew what to say. Trying to make her voice sound croaking and faint she mewed, "My name is Whitefeather. Kill me now." Category:Warriors Fanfiction Category:Short-Stories